Sunday, July 24, 2016

Hey all! I made it safe to Australia! :D I’m in Perth, and starting August 1st I’ll be studying a range of sciences for a semester before heading back to the Netherlands! Things are going well here! (Well, I’m writing this because I got lost on the way to one of my activities, so decided to go back to my dorm after walking around for an hour, haha). It’s winter so it’s really cold at nights, but surprisingly warm during the days. We’re right next to the coast, there’s a range of both pretty and strange-sounding birds, crazy vegetation, unfamiliar night skies and cool people. There’s dolphins in the bay, and a ton of shells on the shore. I still have to get used to it, but I like it here! :D

Remember how I was worrying about not knowing what books to take? I (somehow) managed to figure it out! It took a ton of organizing and list-making, but I managed to miraculously go from three shelves to 7 items. Now I know the first instinct is always to say ‘but why did you bring books, you’re there to study and do other stuff’. Yeah, but I have time before sleeping, when traveling, and other times to read. I’m not not going to. Now for what I brought! Aside from the ARCs in my Kindle (Thanks, Netgalley!), I brought 6 books with me, (that all somehow fit in the same color-scheme when you look at the spines for some reason!). 1. Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow RowellI really wanted to bring this for a few reasons- one, I wanted a contemporary with me, and I’ve heard so much about it! I recently read Fangirl and thought it was adorable. I’ve heard Eleanor & Park was even better, so I wanted to read it soon. 2. Snow like Ashes, by Charlotte RaaschI’ve seen this all over the blogiverse, and it was one of my most anticipated books last year. The bookstore I work with let me get it at a discount, and I’m in the mood for fantasy! 3. The Giver, by Lois LowryJust because it’s one of my favorites, and every time I read it it’s a new experience. Try it out! I know everyone read it in like 6th grade, but it’s even better now! (Random musical interlude: Remember the song that went “Maia hee, maia hoo, maia haa, maia ha-ha”? It’s actually called Dragostea Din Tei, and I looked up the translation for the lyrics, and I had no idea it was like that! Seriously funny, but still so catchy even now!)4. Since You’ve been Gone, by Morgan Matson Just because I started reading it, then stopped. I want to read it eventually, so I brought it. I love the idea of it and liked the first few chapters. I’m not sure why I stopped, I just did. 5. The Martian, by Andy WierI started reading it the day before leaving, and I’m about halfway through right now. It was hard to read in the plane, for some reason, so I didn’t get to finish it in the plane. It’s super cool though! I love the science in it! 6. La fille qui ne croyait pas aux miracles, by Wendy WunderI have no idea what this is originally called, but this is not a french book. My copy is French, however, and I wanted to bring it both to red the story, which sounds sweet, and to keep up with my French away from home. On top of that, I’m also a rep for Booknerd Boxes Subscription box! Yay! The August box is already sold out, but make sure to follow the shop to order your September box! My review for the box will be up as soon as I get it (It should be sometime this week, and I’m super excited about it!) The July theme is Dystopia, August was Fantasy! Make sure to follow @booknerdboxess on insta! I hope you have a great day! See you soon for a review of The Martian, and an overview of a new subscription box!

P.S. I’m starting a second blog about my time here in Australia, so that I don’t post too much here. It’s called Caro goes to Aussie, and has nothing on it right now, but I’m working on it :)

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Hey all! I finished Legacy of Kings, by Eleanor Herman Note: the Boekhandel Dominicanen let me borrow this for review, thank you very much! This does not change my opinion on the book. Also, I wanted this back when it was presented on Netgalley, so that’s a bonus!

"Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to a newcomer…

Katerina must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But she doesn’t account for her first love…

Jacob will go to unthinkable lengths to win Katerina, even if it means having to compete for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince.

And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet betrothed, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.”I actually quite liked this! This is a re-telling of the story of Alexander the Great, an awesome blend of magic, myth and history. It takes place between Greece and Macedonia. It’s kind of like Game of Thrones, in the sense that the different chapters are from the point of view of different characters, but, unlike GoT, the amount of characters is actually manageable. I thought that this book had a great and diverse set of characters. Sure there are historical inaccuracies, but hey, it’s a re-telling. The main characters are Kat, Alex, Jacob, Zofia, Cyn and Heph, and they all relate to each other in some way or another. Kat and Jacob come from the same village, and are finally coming together when Jacob tells her he’s going to participate in the Blood Tournament, something kind of like the Hunger Games. Kat follows him and becomes Alex’s guest. Alex’s best friend is Heph, who likes Cyn. He (Alex) is meant to marry Zophia for political reasons. Each of the characters were built super well! They have real quirks and personalities, and had their own motivations, which sometimes lead to unusual situations. Personally, Heph really isn’t my favorite, but Kat and Alex are cool. Jacob is quite clingy, and Cyn... well I can’t say much about her without spoiling the entire book.What I really enjoyed was the world-building. I absolutely loved both the way it was put together and written, and what the world was like. There was a certain... grace to it, and elegancy, even though it was also dark and bloody. It’s really hard to explain, but it was really unique. There was a great mystery behind Kat’s character, which I loved reading about! Again, I can’t say more, simply because it would give away too much. The book had a great rhythm and was nice to read - I managed to reading it practically one sitting. I’m giving this a 4.5/5 feathers! Can’t wait for part 2!

Have you read Legacy of Kings? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Note: I recieved a copy of this from Netgalley. This does not change my opinion on the book

Note 2: I just realized - after writing the review - that this is the second book in a series.. Maybe that’s why I didn’t quite get it...

Alina knows she is not real – the fae queen spun an evil web to create her – but she wants more than to spend her days feeding off humans’ energy to survive. She isn’t content to lose herself in the dangerously attractive Reign. She wants a life of her own making.

Desperate to help the man who saved her life, Alina vows to find his missing sister. Alina is convinced that the general of the Fae Authority plays a part in her disappearance. She infiltrates the organisation and gets close to their strongest fighter. But while Samuel’s tormented soul and masterful touch stirs in Alina a feeling of being human again, her loyalty to Reign makes her Samuel’s enemy. Who should she trust?

This New Adult urban fantasy is packed with action and suspense and will have you yearning for more forbidden fae romance.

Now, one thing you have to know is that I have a thing for fairy books. They’re not my favorite by any means, but I still love the genre, and I love the way authors twist the idea of fairies to fit their story.

This story felt more like it was about vampires… The fae would ‘drink’ draiocht, some kind of life force (?), by touching humans. It would give them life, energy, and basically food. They were actually quite creepy!

The story is about Alina, a Construct. As far as I understood, she and her friend, Reign, killed the fae queen, and thus has the queen in her, as well as another major spirit, Arachne. But she was only ‘made’ a few weeks ago. She wants to be trained, as she has been showing crazy fighting abilities. She meets Samuel, a friend willing to train her.

But Samuel’s a massive back-stabber. I never really liked his character, I had a hard time shipping them, even though the book wanted you to. It never felt real in my opinion.

Alina is also trying to not become a fairy - she refuses to take draiocht from people, however she has Andrews, a human, who willingly gives some to her when she needs it

I’m not going to lie - I had a hard time with this book. I never really got into it, or got attached to the situation or characters. So many little details could be glossed over while reading, and some revelations are just given in one part of a sentence, that changes everything. But since it’s mentioned once, if you miss it, you’re just left confused. I really wanted to like it.

What I did enjoy was the imagination regarding the world. I really enjoyed reading about it and learning what was going on with the society itself. I know this is a series, and I wish that this book could have set the setting more, rather than focusing on a complicated plot. There was real potential!!

I’m giving this book a 2.5/5 feathers. It had a super potential, but I feel like the world should have been explained more, the characters be more relatable and the plot be less crazy.

Again, don’t take my review too too seriously, as I dint know this was actually the second book in a series...

Sunday, July 10, 2016

I just received a physical ARC of The Sun is Also a Star! :D I’m so excited and honored! I already started it, I’m about 100 pages in as I’m writing this, and it’s so adorable! More about that in an upcoming post about the book - it’s just so sweet! I love both of the main characters!!

Australia

So in less than two weeks, I’m on my way to the other side of the world - to Perth, Australia… This is quite scary for me, I’ve never been that far away from home for that long. I already said bye to (most of) my friends, and am practically all set to go. However, I am actually quite excited about it all! It looks like an awesome place to spend 5-ish months, I’ll be taking great courses, and it’ll definitely be the adventure of a lifetime (good song, too ^_^ ).

To make that bookish - I have no idea what books to bring, hahah

I was wondering if you guys were interested in travel-related blog entries as well! I think they could be fun to write :)

BookNerd Subscription Box

The instagramer @caggielikesbooks is starting a new subscription box this month, and she chose me to be a rep for the next few months! :D *fireworks*. I’ll be getting a box for free every month, and will post an unboxing post every month as well. With two books per box, that should get rid of most of my ‘what should i bring to Aussie’ problem! :D The company is tiny - it’s just starting out! Make sure to order your July box! The theme is Dystopia!

Instagram

So I reached 1.6k followers (wait whut? aw yeah!) and I’m sad to say that my usual one-post-a-day will not happen anymore starting this week. Because of traveling (and lack of variety in books), I might post every 1-3 days instead. I don’t really know yet, I just know that it’ll be quite sporadic…

News! This is so cool!

Guys! So currently I live and study in the Netherlands, in a town where the beautiful Boekhandel Dominicanen bookstore is. They have been trying to find new ways to promote YA books, because sales have been going down. (How is that even possible?) I saw the promotion efforts and went to them, telling them about Just Another Bookish Blog, and saying that I’d be happy to help out if they needed it.

The whole idea kinda evolved strangely. Two Dutch bloggers and I are going to work with the Dominicanen - If/when we review a book that they have on their shelves, they’ll add the blogpost on their own blog, always linking back to our blogs. We might also do some youtube video reviews and we’ll help with their YA-shelf selection!

But things get even crazier!

Basically, they asked me to create a label in the form of a bookmark. Why? Because we’re each going to have our own shelves in the bookstore, filled with our recommendations!! I’m so excited about that!!!! :D

The Dominicanen bookstore is in Maastricht, the Netherlands. If you’re even in the Netherlands, or somewhere in the are of Maastricht (in Germany or Belgium), make sure to visit! It’s in the top (20 I think) most beautiful bookstores in the world! I mean honestly, it’s super unique! And their English section is quite nice, to be honest.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Hey all! I just finished an ARC of The Sun is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon! Note: I received a physical ARC from Jillian Vandall, someone working in the promotion of The Sun is Also a Star! Thanks so much! This does not change my opinion on the book.

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?This book, first of all, gave me a new favorite word:

Multiverse

Have you guys ever heard of the term Multiverse? It’s the idea that for every choice you make, you go into a universe in which you made that choice. If, for example, you made the other choice, you would be in the other universe. It’s like a chain reaction: one decision leads to which universe you end up in. I’ve always loved this idea: I’m constantly thinking ‘What would have happened if I didn’t say ____, or if I actually took this class rather than another”. It’s always intrigued me... plus the word is awesome.

Now, this book does cover the idea of multiverses, but no, the main characters don’t go from one universe to another to change their choices, it’s so much sweeter and more simple than that.

The Sun is Also a Star is about Daniel and Natasha. Daniel is Korean-American. His parents moved to New York from Korea to have a better life for them and their children. Daniel is a poet, a dreamer and a somewhat hopeless romantic, yet his parents are expecting him to be the best at everything he does, and to go to Yale to be a doctor. His older brother is an absolute jerk.

Natasha is Jamaican-American. Somewhat like Daniel, her parents moved to the US for a job opportunity when Natasha was eight. She wants to stay, but the plan is that she’ll be deported in the evening. She loves math and science and all things logical and pragmatic, as well as 90s bands. She’s a character who is willing to go the extra step to get what she wants - and that is not to be deported back to Jamaica.

Ok. I have to be real with you. If you’re one of those people who don’t like insta-love, you might be thrown off by the first few chapters. I’m not going to hide anything, it’s quite insta-lovey. It does cover quite a bit of the book, but, in the art and style of Nicola Yoon, it’s absolutely shipable and adorable. There was this whole ‘meant to be’ idea between them, that Daniel talks about quite a bit, and that the theme of the book eludes to as well. I can’t, it’s so so so sweet! :3

But that’s not a reason to put the book down - the whole book is about the idea of multiverses, and how everyone’s actions affect other people in ways one might not expect.

So you have Natasha and Daniel, an adorable pairing that click instantly. But you also have lots of minor characters - the brothers, their parents, and people like secretaries and lawyers and security guards. What I loved about this book was that whenever Daniel and/or Natasha interacted with someone, we would get a short chapter from their point of view, or about them, about how Datasha affected their own life, good or bad. We also get how one of the side characters affects them, and why. I don’t want to give away too much, but it really shows how everyone is linked in somewhat or another. For me, that’s what the book was about. Not so much the cutesy Datasha, but really the links from person to person.

The ending though! I wasn’t expecting that and, without giving anything away, it was so sad! But the epilogue was amazing and made it all super worth it!

Just like Everything Everything, it’s a super light and easy read, that is compulsively readable. The chapters are short so are easy to just flip through, and it’s just super refreshing! I loved the rhythm of the book, and the overall feel of how it was written!

The only thing that was a bit meh is the fact that Daniel was quite obsessed with Natasha right away, which was slightly creepy to be fair. But it just was all so cute in the end!

Overall, I’m giving this a 5/5 feathers! It was so adorable and made me think quite a bit!

The Sun is Also a Star comes on in November 2016! Make sure to get a copy! :D

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Many thanks to the Dominicanen Boekhandel in Maastricht for providing a copy! This does not affect my opinions on this book.

Also, during my next bookish talk, look out four some great news regarding the Dominicanen!

Iris’s father Ernest is at the end of his life.

Her best friend Thurston seems like a distant memory to her.

Her mother has declared war. She means to get her hands on Ernest’s priceless art collection so that she can afford to live the high life.

But Ernest has other ideas.

There are things he wants Iris to know. Things he can tell her and things that must wait till he’s gone.

What she does after that is up to her.

I started this book without any expectations - I just knew that it was a contemporary, to be honest! I had never read any reviews about it, or even heard weather people generally like it or not.

Now, I’m not going to hide anything from you guys - this book is hard to get into. Within the first fifty pages, you realize that there are so many heavy topics in this book, which all affect the main character in some way or another. There’s more drama in those 50 pages than in the entire movie Titanic. Basically, Iris, the main character, is a pyromaniac who likes setting fire to things when she’s overly emotional. Her mom is a depressed, alcoholic gold digger, who’s happy that Iris’s dad is dying because it means that she would inherit a lot of money. Iris never met her dad until this book starts, and he’s dying of four types of cancer. Her mom’s boyfriend is just as messed up as the mom is, and her best friend lives on the streets and does street art.

Talk about a problematic family.

This book is quite short, and I think it would have been more enjoyable if it was a little more spread out, with a more definite plot. Personally, I have a hard time with books that skip back and forth in time without a page break or warning, and this book did that a lot. That might have taken away the opportunity for a good, solid plot to come forward. This felt more like ‘a week in the life of Iris’.

Iris’s character isn’t my favorite, she’s stubborn and explosive. However, I really, really like Thurston (her friend) and her dad’s characters. They were both so great! The dad felt like an actually human being compared to the others in the book. He was rational and slightly head-in-the-clouds-like. Thurston was quite sweet! He really cared for Iris, as a friend, but he also wanted people to have stories to tell. One of his stories that stuck out to me was when he was wearing several dollars on his shirt, and people were staring, wondering if that was real, and if they could take it. Eventually, they all did, and he was happy to have given the people something to wonder or marvel about for the rest of the day.

Also, it’s worth mentioning that if you’re expecting a love story, you won’t find it here - it mentions one on the cover, but it isn’t between Iris and Thurston, but more of a father-daughter relationship.

Another thing I did like was the ending. There were a few surprise elements that I didn’t see coming, and it was written in a way that I wish the rest of the book was written in. Honestly, it was worth the read practically just for the end - it was seriously cool!

I’m giving this book a 2.5/5 stars, sadly. So much drama, and characters with quirks but not enough personality in my opinion

Friday, July 1, 2016

Hey all! Carrie @ The Book Goddess tagged me to do the Soundtrack of my Life Book Tag. Thanks so much!

instagram @justanotherbookishblog

I’m going to do something a bit different today - click on the topic titles and it’ll lead you to a song! Opening Credits: Favorite Childhood Book- I don’t have anything specific in mind, but I loved the Madison Finn series! :D

Death Scene: A book or series you wish ended differently- Bitterblue: I really wish we had a chapter that says what happens to Bitterblue, Saf, Po and Katsa... Funeral: The book with the best/worst epilogue- Allegiant : Again, do I need to explain? What did you think about this? What would you have answered? Let me know! :D Have a great day! :)